The Color of Darkness
“Getting lost in an alcoholic haze never started out as my objective although I was well aware that lifting the first glass usually led to familiar circumstances.
Earlier in the evening I resolved to get my life together once and for all as I had so many times before.”
The Color of Darkness by Michael Bierwiler relatesthe story of former police officer, Jim Delano, who reaches rock bottom in his downhill spiral to alcoholic oblivion. He cuts all ties to his life, his job, his family and most of his friends, to shed responsibility. But, life has something else in store for him. We are presented with an anti-protagonist that we can like, but censure for his foibles.
On his journey, his truck, the only ‘home’ he has, is stolen, he meets some people who don’t mind helping or hurting him, depending on their own agenda and he stumbles across a dead immigrant. The way he meets the last of these challenges is the core of his story. It leads him to a ranch in South Texas and a return to police work in an undercover capacity.
“In Fort Worth I was just a cog in the machinery. I knew that there had to be more in life than eating, sleeping, working and repeating the whole process every time the sun comes up again. … I have this feeling that the defining moment of my life is just around the corner. When it happens, I’ll know who I’m really meant to be.”
Jim Delano’s search for himself as well as the mystery that led to the end of the life of the immigrant will appeal to all those who enjoy a good mystery. The characters are so well defined that you feel that you know them. The narratives provide great word pictures of the locations, so much so that you can envision them.
The Color of Darkness is a finalist in the NTBF Awards at the North Texas Book Festival, April 16, 2011 at the Center for Visual Arts in Denton, Texas.
Earlier in the evening I resolved to get my life together once and for all as I had so many times before.”
The Color of Darkness by Michael Bierwiler relatesthe story of former police officer, Jim Delano, who reaches rock bottom in his downhill spiral to alcoholic oblivion. He cuts all ties to his life, his job, his family and most of his friends, to shed responsibility. But, life has something else in store for him. We are presented with an anti-protagonist that we can like, but censure for his foibles.
On his journey, his truck, the only ‘home’ he has, is stolen, he meets some people who don’t mind helping or hurting him, depending on their own agenda and he stumbles across a dead immigrant. The way he meets the last of these challenges is the core of his story. It leads him to a ranch in South Texas and a return to police work in an undercover capacity.
“In Fort Worth I was just a cog in the machinery. I knew that there had to be more in life than eating, sleeping, working and repeating the whole process every time the sun comes up again. … I have this feeling that the defining moment of my life is just around the corner. When it happens, I’ll know who I’m really meant to be.”
Jim Delano’s search for himself as well as the mystery that led to the end of the life of the immigrant will appeal to all those who enjoy a good mystery. The characters are so well defined that you feel that you know them. The narratives provide great word pictures of the locations, so much so that you can envision them.
The Color of Darkness is a finalist in the NTBF Awards at the North Texas Book Festival, April 16, 2011 at the Center for Visual Arts in Denton, Texas.
